San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Brock Purdy is having an insane year and is getting some MVP hype. How many QBs are honestly better than him right now? I don't think there are five better quarterbacks in the NFL right now than Purdy, who has gone from afterthought-Mr. Irrelevant to one of the best QBs in the NFL.
The 23-year-old passer is in his second season and is absolutely tearing it up. The San Francisco 49ers easily look like the best team in football, and Purdy is a huge reason for that. Purdy was forced into the lineup in 2022 after both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo went down with injuries. All Purdy did was lead the team to a 5-0 record down the stretch and an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.
People questioned Purdy during his rookie season, and he's still getting questioned today. Through 12 games, Brock Purdy has completed 70.2% of his passes for 3,185 yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He's got a 116.1 passer rating and a 75.6 QBR. Even though the QB is playing in a very QB-friendly system, he leads all QBs in completion percentage, touchdown percentage, yards per attempt, yards per completion, passer rating, and QBR.
Statistically speaking, he's been the most productive QB in the NFL. And yet, people are still saying that Purdy is just a guy, or isn't as good as his numbers indicate. Well, let me ask you this; was Jimmy Garoppolo ever putting up these kinds of numbers when he was with the 49ers? The answer is not, in fact, not even close. I do think people need to come to grips with the possibility that Brock Purdy is indeed a very good, perhaps elite passer that is also in a very QB-friendly system.
I do think if you put Brock Purdy in other situations across the NFL, he'd still be very productive. The Niners are running away with the NFC West title and do have a realistic shot at earning the #1 seed in the NFC, which gives them home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The magical rise to NFL stardom from Purdy is warranted, and he is an elite QB.